One of my favorite things to eat is the sweet potato and tempeh hash at Sacred Chow, they only have it at brunch, but it's so dang good!! It's one of my favorite places to eat at any time of day too. :-)

buuuuump.I have some downtime so I'm doing a bit more planning (gonna buy our plane tickets soon!)I'm not a huge spender/shopper, but other than MooShoes, are there some rad shops a plus sized lady who likes dresses and vintage stuff should check out? Also, record shops. And book stores. And anything else that is sort of a OMGYOUMUSTGO kind of thing. Also, I've never been to a Trader Joe's...should I make time for it in my few days there?

_________________Did you notice the slight feeling of panic at the words "Chicken Basin Street"? Like someone was walking over your grave? Try not to remember. We must never remember. - mumblesIs this about devilberries and nazifruit again? - footface

I booked a room through airbnb. - https://www.airbnb.com/ It was someone else's place, but they weren't there. You can specify that you want the entire place to yourself, or if you're willing to share a place. It was in a really convenient location in Williamsburg, and we also got a bonus cat to hang out with. It was only $85/night. I saw some other really good deals all over Manhattan.

Smorgasburg is a really cool outdoor market in Williamsburg, it runs Saturdays- http://www.brooklynflea.com/smorgasburg/. It isn't all vegan, but there are quite a few options there, including tempeh sandwiches from locally made tempeh, quinoa falafel, there was vegan ice cream the day I went, etc.

You can also catch a $4 ferry to various parts of the city from there, which can be fun.

_________________"Noooo! Karyn, you have to stop posting old Jensen pics. He looks way too smooth in those pics, like if I touch his face it'll feel like silk or bosoms or something."-mixmaster_moIt's Raining Kale

If you're dead-set on checking out a Trader Joe's while you're ere, I would avoid the one in Union Square, because it is nutso all the time and you will not really have a relaxing chance to browse. The one in Brooklyn (Court Street) isn't as crazy if you go early in the day, and it's in a cool old building.

Also! I like to plan my days in NYC. If you just zigzag across the city, you can end up spending hours on the subway. Pick two or three things you really want to do, and find stuff kind of nearby to supplement.

If the weather is nice, be sure to spend some downtime in one of NYC's parks. You'll need to sit down after all that walking, anyway! I always find myself venturing to McCarren Park after coffee/vintage shopping on Bedford Ave, or people-watching in Union Square Park (which is right across the street from Whole Foods if you need a refreshing kombucha or something), or in Central Park for a relaxing picnic.

Also! I like to plan my days in NYC. If you just zigzag across the city, you can end up spending hours on the subway. Pick two or three things you really want to do, and find stuff kind of nearby to supplement.

This is really good advice, especially if you're here over a weekend, as certain subway lines will reroute for construction making it even more inconvenient than normal to get from point A to B to C. I would actually recommend looking at the MTA website a few days before you come just to see if any of the subway lines near where you're staying/stuff you plan on visiting have service changes, as it can be quite confusing and time-consuming to wait for a train that's never going to come when there aren't signs clearly posted in the station. http://www.mta.info/

may i suggest taking the bus? when i worked in NY 100 years ago you only took the bus if you wanted to get mugged/die but now it's so much easier and you get to see the city more, and it's SO MUCH EASIER AND TRANSPARENT than the subway. Just have someone give you the QT about where those ones you have to buy tickets first for are (i kind of screwed that up last time i was there).

PP, do you guys have dates set for your visit? It would be so much fun to meet you if I'm around when you're here!

I second the recommendation for the Strand bookstore, it is amazing.

For vintage clothes, I've had good luck at Beacon's Closet in Williamsburg (Brooklyn). If you're going to W-burg for Smorgasburg, it's pretty close by. There's another Beacon's Closet in Park Slope (also Brooklyn) - it's smaller than the one in Williamsburg. It is close to 'Snice, a mostly vegan coffee house with really good sandwiches, and that area of Brooklyn is fun to walk around.

I have a love-hate relationship with Trader Joe's in the city, mostly because of the crowds. If you do go, the ones in Brooklyn and Chelsea are bigger than the one in Union Square, and going in the middle of a weekday will hopefully give you a less hectic experience than going after work or during the weekend.

I don't think anyone has mentioned the Cinnamon Snail food truck, but you should definitely visit them! Best sandwiches ever and amazing donuts. They post their locations on their Fbook and twitter pages, but usually they're in midtown or downtown Manhattan during the week.

2) Almost any good bagel place for a bagel with veggie tofutti cream cheese

Yeah, I feel like this needs to be part of our NYC experience. Any recommendations?Also, Jewish bakeries where I can get knishes?

There's a bagel place on Broadway up in the 80s (sorry, don't remember exactly what street) that is amazing - somebody help me out with name? Not a whole lot else up there to see, but if you're going to be on the upper west side for something I'd make a trip.

Yonah Schimmels for knish. All of their knish that don't have cheese are vegan. They usually have a vegan soup. Good neighborhood too if you're interested in wandering and finding lower east side history and food, very close to The Pickle Guys if you like pickles, and the pickle guys are around the corner from one of the few places that still makes bialys.

I'm totally just lurking here because I miss New York and want to go back. But in terms of accommodation advice- when we were there we stayed at the Gershwin Hotel and it was really good. We were doing things on the cheap so we stayed in a 10-person dorm (which was fine, except for there only being one bathroom to share between us all), but they also have private rooms at a bunch of different price points. The location was great, close to the subway and walking distance to a heap of other things. The Flatiron Building and Empire State Building are both just around (opposite) corners. I would totally stay there again.

I loved The Strand bookstore, and there's a brownie bottom cheesecake at Red Bamboo that I still dream about sometimes.

We found a few great places on AirBNB that we're looking into, I like the idea of having a kitchen for cheaper, at-home breakfasts a couple mornings. Though we'll be going to Yonah Schimmels for breakfast knishes one morning! We're booking our flight this weekend! We'll probably be visiting from November 12th to the 16th.

Will that big Christmas tree be up by then? I feel like if it's up, I need to have a Home Alone moment and go and see it.

_________________Did you notice the slight feeling of panic at the words "Chicken Basin Street"? Like someone was walking over your grave? Try not to remember. We must never remember. - mumblesIs this about devilberries and nazifruit again? - footface

Oh! And! My husband loves coffee (he has a coffee tattoo) and I feel like he'll be cranky if we don't get him sufficiently caffeinated each day. Best coffee places with stuff like soy espresso-based drinks?

_________________Did you notice the slight feeling of panic at the words "Chicken Basin Street"? Like someone was walking over your grave? Try not to remember. We must never remember. - mumblesIs this about devilberries and nazifruit again? - footface